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62nd United States Congress
1911-1913 U.S. Congress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 62nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1911, to March 4, 1913, during the final two years of William H. Taft's presidency.
The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1900 United States census. Additional House seats were assigned to the two new states of New Mexico and Arizona. The size of the House was to be 435 starting with the new Congress coming into session in 1913. The Senate had a Republican majority, and the House flipped into a Democratic majority. This change of control ended the 14-year-long Republican government trifecta that began in the 55th Congress, one of only two trifectas that lasted longer than a decade.
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Major events
- April 27, 1911: Following the resignation and death of William P. Frye, a compromise is reached to rotate the office of President pro tempore of the United States Senate.
- October 30, 1912: Vice President James S. Sherman died. It is the most recent time a vice president has died in office.
Major legislation
- August 8, 1911: Public Law 62-5, Pub. L. 62–5 (set House of Representatives size at 435 members)
- August 24, 1912: Lloyd–La Follette Act, ch. 389, § 6, 37 Stat. 539
- February 13, 1913: Carlin Act
- March 1, 1913: Webb–Kenyon Act
- March 1, 1913: Railway Evaluation Act
- March 3, 1913: Publicity In Taking Evidence Act
- March 3, 1913: Virus-Serum-Toxin Act
- March 3, 1913: Gould Amendment
- March 4, 1913: Arlington Memorial Amphitheater Act
- March 4, 1913: Road and Trails Fund Act
- March 4, 1913: Burnett Act
- March 4, 1913: Weeks–McLean Act
- March 4, 1913: Federal Revenue Sharing Act
- March 4, 1913: Rivers and Harbors Act of 1913
- March 4, 1913: Burnt Timber Act
- March 4, 1913: Labor Department Act, 37 Stat. 736
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Constitutional amendments
- May 13, 1912: Approved an amendment to the United States Constitution establishing the popular election of United States senators by the people of the states, and submitted it to the state legislatures for ratification
- Amendment was later ratified on April 8, 1913, becoming the seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
- February 3, 1913: Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states (then 36) to become part of the Constitution
States admitted and territories created
- January 6, 1912: New Mexico admitted to the Union.
- February 14, 1912: Arizona admitted to the Union
- August 24, 1912: Alaska Territory created.
Party summary
Senate
House of Representatives
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Leaders
Senate

James S. Sherman
- President: James S. Sherman (R), until October 30, 1912; thereafter vacant
- Presidents pro tempore: William P. Frye (R), until April 27, 1911.
- For the remainder of this Congress, the office rotated among five senators. The Senate at that time was split between progressive Republicans, conservative Republicans, and Democrats. Each put forth a candidate, and the ballots were deadlocked until August 1911 when a compromise was reached. Democrat Augustus Bacon served for one day on August 14, 1911, and thereafter he and four Republicans rotated holding the seat for the remainder of the Congress. These Republicans were: Charles Curtis, Jacob H. Gallinger, Frank B. Brandegee, and Henry Cabot Lodge.
- Republican Conference Chairman: Shelby Moore Cullom
- Democratic Caucus Chairman: Thomas S. Martin
- Republican Conference Secretary: Charles Curtis
- Democratic Caucus Secretary: William E. Chilton
House of Representatives
- Speaker: Champ Clark (D)
Majority (Democratic) leadership
Minority (Republican) leadership
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Members
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Senate
At this time, most senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. A few senators were elected directly by the residents of the state. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election, In this Congress, Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1912; Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1914; and Class 1 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1916.
House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
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Changes in membership
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Senate
There were 20 changes: 6 deaths, 2 resignations, 1 invalidated election, 6 appointees replaced by electees, 4 seats added from new states, and 1 seat vacant from the previous Congress. Democrats had a 4-seat net gain, and no other parties had a net change.
House of Representatives
House vacancies are only filled by elections. State laws regulate when (and if) there will be special elections.
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Committees
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Lists of committees and their party leaders for members of the House and Senate committees can be found through the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of this article. The directory after the pages of terms of service lists committees of the Senate, House (Standing with Subcommittees, Select and Special) and Joint and, after that, House/Senate committee assignments. On the committees section of the House and Senate in the Official Congressional Directory, the committee's members on the first row on the left side shows the chairman of the committee and on the right side shows the ranking member of the committee.
Senate
- Additional Accommodations for the Library of Congress (Select) (Chairman: Josiah W. Bailey; Ranking Member: Shelby M. Cullom)
- Agriculture and Forestry (Chairman: Henry E. Burnham; Ranking Member: John H. Bankhead)
- Appropriations (Chairman: Francis E. Warren; Ranking Member: Benjamin R. Tillman)
- Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Frank O. Briggs; Ranking Member: James P. Clarke)
- Canadian Relations (Chairman: George T. Oliver; Ranking Member: Benjamin R. Tillman)
- Census (Chairman: Robert M. La Follette; Ranking Member: Joseph W. Bailey)
- Civil Service and Retrenchment (Chairman: Albert B. Cummins; Ranking Member: James P. Clarke)
- Claims (Chairman: Coe I. Crawford; Ranking Member: Thomas S. Martin)
- Coast and Insular Survey (Chairman: Charles E. Townsend; Ranking Member: Charles A. Culberson)
- Coast Defenses (Chairman: Charles Curtis; Ranking Member: Furnifold M. Simmons)
- Commerce (Chairman: William P. Frye; Ranking Member: Thomas S. Martin)
- Conservation of National Resources (Chairman: Joseph M. Dixon; Ranking Member: Francis G. Newlands)
- Corporations Organized in the District of Columbia (Chairman: Francis G. Newlands; Ranking Member: Norris Brown)
- Cuban Relations (Chairman: Carroll S. Page; Ranking Member: Furnifold M. Simmons)
- Disposition of Useless Papers in the Executive Departments (Chairman: James P. Clarke; Ranking Member: Henry E. Burnham)
- Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
- District of Columbia (Chairman: Jacob H. Gallinger; Ranking Member: Thomas S. Martin)
- Education and Labor (Chairman: William E. Borah; Ranking Member: Isidor Rayner then John H. Bankhead)
- Election of William Lorimer (Select)
- Engrossed Bills (Chairman: Furnifold M. Simmons; Ranking Member: Henry Cabot Lodge)
- Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Isaac Stephenson; Ranking Member: Murphy J. Foster)
- Establish a University in the United States (Select)
- Examine the Several Branches in the Civil Service (Chairman: Thomas H. Paynter; Ranking Member: Harry A. Richardson)
- Expenditures in the Department of Agriculture (Chairman: Henry F. Lippitt; Ranking Member: Furnifold M. Simmons)
- Expenditures in the Department of Commerce and Labor (Chairman: Miles Poindexter; Ranking Member: N/A)
- Expenditures in the Interior Department (Chairman: James M. Graham; Ranking Member: Jeff Davis)
- Expenditures in the Department of Justice (Chairman: William O. Bradley; Ranking Member: Joseph W. Bailey)
- Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Asle J. Gronna; Ranking Member: Thomas S. Martin)
- Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Joseph L. Bristow; Ranking Member: Augustus O. Bacon)
- Expenditures in the Department of State (Chairman: William S. Kenyon; Ranking Member: William J. Stone)
- Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: Theodore E. Burton; Ranking Member: John W. Smith)
- Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: John D. Works; Ranking Member: Murphy J. Foster Jr.)
- Finance (Chairman: Boies Penrose; Ranking Member: Joseph W. Bailey)
- Fisheries (Chairman: Wesley L. Jones; Ranking Member: Joseph W. Bailey)
- Five Civilized Tribes of Indians (Chairman: Benjamin R. Tillman; Ranking Member: Moses E. Clapp)
- Foreign Relations (Chairman: Shelby M. Cullom; Ranking Member: Augustus O. Bacon)
- Forest Reservations and the Protection of Game (Chairman: George P. McLean; Ranking Member: Benjamin R. Tillman)
- Geological Survey (Chairman: Robert L. Taylor; Ranking Member: Frank O. Briggs)
- Immigration (Chairman: Henry Cabot Lodge; Ranking Member: Jeff Davis)
- Impeachment of Robert H. Archibald (Select)
- Indian Affairs (Chairman: Robert J. Gamble; Ranking Member: William J. Stone)
- Indian Depredations (Chairman: Isidor Rayner then Jeff Davis; Ranking Member: Charles Curtis)
- Industrial Expositions (Chairman: Elihu Root; Ranking Member: Isidor Rayner then Lee S. Overman)
- Interoceanic Canals (Chairman: Frank B. Brandegee; Ranking Member: Furnifold M. Simmons)
- Interstate Commerce (Chairman: Moses E. Clapp; Ranking Member: Benjamin R. Tillman)
- Irrigation and Reclamation (Chairman: George S. Nixon; Ranking Member: Joseph W. Bailey)
- Judiciary (Chairman: Clarence D. Clark; Ranking Member: Augustus O. Bacon)
- Library (Chairman: George P. Wetmore; Ranking Member: Francis G. Newlands)
- Manufactures (Chairman: Weldon B. Heyburn; Ranking Member: Ellison D. Smith)
- Military Affairs (Chairman: Henry A. du Pont; Ranking Member: Murphy J. Foster)
- Mines and Mining (Chairman: William Lorimer; Ranking Member: Benjamin R. Tillman)
- Mississippi River and its Tributaries (Select) (Chairman: Jeff Davis; Ranking Member: Norris Brown)
- National Banks (Chairman: George C. Perkins)
- Naval Affairs (Chairman: George C. Perkins; Ranking Member: Benjamin R. Tillman)
- Pacific Islands and Puerto Rico (Chairman: Harry A. Richardson; Ranking Member: James P. Clarke)
- Pacific Railroads (Chairman: Robert L. Owen; Ranking Member: William A. Smith)
- Patents (Chairman: Norris Brown; Ranking Member: Benjamin F. Shively)
- Pensions (Chairman: Porter J. McCumber; Ranking Member: Robert L. Taylor)
- Philippines (Chairman: Simon Guggenheim; Ranking Member: Joseph F. Johnston)
- Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Jonathan Bourne Jr.; Ranking Member: John H. Bankhead)
- Printing (Chairman: Reed Smoot; Ranking Member: John W. Smith)
- Private Land Claims (Chairman: Augustus O. Bacon; Ranking Member: William A. Smith)
- Privileges and Elections (Chairman: William P. Dillingham; Ranking Member: Thomas H. Paynter)
- Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: George Sutherland; Ranking Member: Charles A. Culberson)
- Public Health and National Quarantine (Chairman: Charles A. Culberson; Ranking Member: Reed Smoot)
- Public Lands (Chairman: Knute Nelson; Ranking Member: Francis G. Newlands)
- Railroads (Chairman: Thomas P. Gore; Ranking Member: Clarence D. Clark)
- Revision of the Laws (Chairman: Weldon B. Heyburn)
- Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: William J. Stone; Ranking Member: William O. Bradley)
- Rules (Chairman: Winthrop Murray Crane; Ranking Member: Augustus O. Bacon)
- Standards, Weights and Measures (Chairman: John H. Bankhead; Ranking Member: William E. Borah)
- Tariff Regulation (Select)
- Territories (Chairman: William A. Smith; Ranking Member: Robert L. Owen)
- Third Degree Ordeal
- Transportation and Sale of Meat Products (Select) (Chairman: Murphy J. Foster; Ranking Member: Clarence D. Clark)
- Transportation Routes to the Seaboard (Chairman: Ellison D. Smith; Ranking Member: Clarence D. Clark)
- Trespassers upon Indian Lands (Select) (Chairman: John W. Smith; Ranking Member: William O. Bradley)
- Whole
- Woman Suffrage (Chairman: Lee S. Overman; Ranking Member: George P. Wetmore)
House of Representatives
- Accounts (Chairman: James T. Lloyd; Ranking Member: James A. Hughes)
- Agriculture (Chairman: John Lamb; Ranking Member: Gilbert N. Haugen)
- Alcoholic Liquor Traffic (Chairman: Ezekiel S. Candler Jr.; Ranking Member: Andrew J. Barchfeld)
- Appropriations (Chairman: John J. Fitzgerald; Ranking Member: Joseph G. Cannon)
- American Sugar Refining Company (Special)
- Banking and Currency (Chairman: Arsene P. Pujo; Ranking Member: Edward B. Vreeland)
- Census (Chairman: William C. Houston; Ranking Member: Edgar D. Crumpacker)
- Claims (Chairman: Edward W. Pou; Ranking Member: William H. Heald)
- Coinage, Weights and Measures (Chairman: Thomas W. Hardwick; Ranking Member: William W. Griest)
- Disposition of Executive Papers (Chairman: J. Frederick Cockey Talbott; Ranking Member: George D. McCreary)
- District of Columbia (Chairman: Ben Johnson; Ranking Member: Julius Kahn)
- Education (Chairman: Asbury F. Lever; Ranking Member: James F. Burke)
- Election of the President, Vice President and Representatives in Congress (Chairman: William W. Rucker; Ranking Member: Marlin E. Olmsted)
- Elections No.#1 (Chairman: Timothy T. Ansberry; Ranking Member: Solomon F. Prouty)
- Elections No.#2 (Chairman: James A. Hamill; Ranking Member: John M. Nelson)
- Elections No.#3 (Chairman: Henry M. Goldfogle; Ranking Member: Henry A. Cooper)
- Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Ben Cravens; Ranking Member: Daniel Read Anthony)
- Expenditures in the Agriculture Department (Chairman: Ralph W. Moss; Ranking Member: Edwin W. Higgins)
- Expenditures in the Commerce and Labor Departments (Chairman: John H. Rothermel; Ranking Member: Bird S. McGuire)
- Expenditures in the Interior Department (Chairman: James M. Graham; Ranking Member: Franklin W. Mondell)
- Expenditures in the Justice Department (Chairman: Jack Beall; Ranking Member: Elbert H. Hubbard)
- Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Rufus Hardy; Ranking Member: William B. McKinley)
- Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: William A. Ashbrook; Ranking Member: Richard W. Austin)
- Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Courtney W. Hamlin; Ranking Member: Charles R. Davis)
- Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: William E. Cox; Ranking Member: Ebenezer J. Hill)
- Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Harvey Helm; Ranking Member: Asher C. Hinds)
- Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Cyrus Cline; Ranking Member: E. Stevens Henry)
- Foreign Affairs (Chairman: William Sulzer; Ranking Member: William B. McKinley)
- Immigration and Naturalization (Chairman: John L. Burnett; Ranking Member: Augustus P. Gardner)
- Indian Affairs (Chairman: John H. Stephens; Ranking Member: Charles H. Burke)
- Industrial Arts and Expositions (Chairman: J. Thomas Heflin; Ranking Member: William A. Rodenberg)
- Insular Affairs (Chairman: William A. Jones; Ranking Member: Marlin E. Olmsted)
- Interstate and Foreign Commerce (Chairman: William C. Adamson; Ranking Member: Frederick C. Stevens)
- Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Isaac R. Sherwood; Ranking Member: Charles H. Burke)
- Irrigation of Arid Lands (Chairman: William R. Smith; Ranking Member: Moses P. Kinkaid)
- Judiciary (Chairman: Henry De Lamar Clayton; Ranking Member: John A. Sterling)
- Labor (Chairman: William B. Wilson; Ranking Member: John J. Gardner)
- Levees and Improvements of the Mississippi River (Chairman: James L. Slayden; Ranking Member: N/A)
- Merchant Marine and Fisheries (Chairman: Joshua W. Alexander; Ranking Member: William S. Greene)
- Mileage (Chairman: Robert E. Lee; Ranking Member: Charles A. Kennedy)
- Military Affairs (Chairman: James Hay; Ranking Member: George W. Prince)
- Mines and Mining (Chairman: Martin D. Foster; Ranking Member: Joseph Howell)
- Naval Affairs (Chairman: Lemuel P. Padgett; Ranking Member: George Edmund Foss)
- Patents (Chairman: William A. Oldfield; Ranking Member: Frank D. Currier)
- Pensions (Chairman: William Richardson; Ranking Member: Ira W. Wood)
- Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: John A. Moon; Ranking Member: John W. Weeks)
- Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: David E. Finley; Ranking Member: Benjamin K. Focht)
- Public Lands (Chairman: Morris Sheppard; Ranking Member: Franklin W. Mondell)
- Railways and Canals (Chairman: Charles A. Korbly; Ranking Member: Frederick H. Gillett)
- Reform in the Civil Service (Chairman: Charles A. Korbly; Ranking Member: George P. Lawrence)
- Revision of Laws (Chairman: John T. Watkins; Ranking Member: Reuben O. Moon)
- Rivers and Harbors (Chairman: Stephen M. Sparkman; Ranking Member: George P. Lawrence)
- Rules (Chairman: Robert L. Henry; Ranking Member: John Dalzell)
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Territories (Chairman: Henry D. Flood; Ranking Member: Richard E. Connell then William H. Draper)
- War Claims (Chairman: Thetus W. Sims; Ranking Member: Elmer A. Morse)
- Ways and Means (Chairman: Oscar Underwood; Ranking Member: Sereno E. Payne)
- Whole
Joint committees
- Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
- Disposition of (Useless) Executive Papers
- Federal Aid in Construction of Post Roads
- Investigations of Conditions in Alaska (Chairman: Sen. Knute Nelson)
- Investigate the General Parcel Post
- The Library
- Printing (Chairman: Sen. Reed Smoot)
- Postage on 2nd Class Mail Matter and Compensation for Transportation of Mail (Chairman: Sen. Jonathan Bourne Jr.)
- Second Class Mail Matter and Compensation for Rail Mail Service
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Caucuses
- Democratic (House)
- Democratic (Senate)
Employees
Legislative branch agency directors
Senate
- Chaplain: Ulysses G.B. Pierce, Unitarian
- Secretary: Charles G. Bennett
- Librarian: Edward C. Goodwin
- Sergeant at Arms: Daniel M. Ransdell, until December 10, 1912
- E. Livingston Cornelius, elected December 10, 1912
House of Representatives
- Clerk: Alexander McDowell, until March 3, 1911.
- South Trimble, from April 4, 1911.
- Chaplain: Henry N. Couden, Universalist
- Clerk at the Speaker's Table: Charles R. Crisp
- Doorkeeper: Joseph J. Sinnott
- Reading Clerks: Patrick Joseph Haltigan (D) and H. Martin Williams (R)
- Postmaster: William M. Dunbar
- Sergeant at Arms: Henry Casson, until April 4, 1911.
- W. Stokes Jackson, died June 1912.
- Charles F. Riddell, elected July 18, 1912.
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See also
- 1910 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
- 1912 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
Notes
References
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